This invention relates to multi-roll measuring instruments such as vehicle odometers, and more particularly to a new and improved distance measuring roll assembly featuring a plurality of rolls mounted on a shaft with partition plates sandwiched therebetween that carry pinion gears which drivingly interconnect the rolls and which have tang like extensions for aligning the rolls to a zero start position. These extensions have pin and pocket means interconnecting adjacent partition plates so that the rolls are unitized on build up and are held in position and are ready for optimized installation or repair without disturbance of roll position.
Prior to the present invention, various multi-roll odometer designs have been designed in which partition plates have been utilized to carry the pinion gears that interconnect the rolls so that the rolls incrementally measure distances traveled by the vehicle employing the odometer. While the prior devices were generally satisfactory, they were subject to misalignment prior to their installation into a support bracket since the rolls could be readily misaligned, such as by slight finger touch of one of the rolls, whereby the numbers on the rolls were inadvertently turned out of alignment prior to installation into their support bracket. This resulted in part rejection and required time consuming realignment of the rolls prior to assembly into an odometer bracket for installation in a vehicle. Furthermore, with prior constructions, removal was difficult since the rolls had to be handled with particular care to prevent their misalignment of roll numbers as registered on removal.
In the present invention, the numbered rolls of a vehicle odometer have partition plates mounted therebetween. Each of the partition plates carries an interconnecting pinion gear that drivingly interconnect the rolls so that distances are accurately recorded. The partition plates are generally flattened and each is formed with a tangentially extending tang that projects outwardly of the roll assembly. Uniquely, each tang carries at its end a specialized transversely-extending pin and pocket so that adjacent partition plates will be connected with one another on the sequential build up of the rolls and partition plates and pinions on a centralized shaft into a unitized roll assembly. This in effect mounts the pinions on interconnected partition plates and effectively prevent the rolls from being inadvertently turned relative to each other so the numbers thereon are not turned out of predetermined alignment.
With this invention, there is accordingly a new construction and method for untizing the rolls of an odometer to provide improved assembly and installation and removal, if required, with minimized potential for misalignment of roll numbering.
These and other features, objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and drawing in which: